String instrument of guitar type

ABSTRACT

A string instrument of guitar type which is constructed to allow both individual notes and chords to be played thereon. The instrument is tuned in such a manner that the pitch difference of the open string notes obtained by adjacent strings (4) alternately is three and four semitones. Each fret (5) on the instrument represents one whole tone. The tuning of the instrument thus is adapted to the traditional occidental harmony of music. The instrument is designed in two different embodiments, viz., as an acoustic instrument and as an electric instrument. As a beginner&#39;s instrument in both the acoustic and electric variety it comprises preferably 4 to 6 strings (4). In other embodiments the string instrument is designed to comprise any number of strings between 6 and 13. The increased number of strings increases the range of notes and tone variety of the instrument. The string instrument may be played using available guitar literature as well as existing piano literature.

The subject invention relates to a string instrument of guitar type. Theinstrument is intended both for playing individual notes and chords,that is, both for playing melodies and for accompaniment. The instrumentmay be electric or acoustic and may be provided with the desired numberof strings, preferably 4 to 13, depending on the intended field of useand purpose of the individual instrument.

Conventional guitars are tuned in such a manner that there is a pitchdifference of five semitones between the tones obtained with theindividual strings when open, except between the fourth and the fifthstring where the pitch difference is four semitones. In addition, thereis a pitch difference of one semitone between each fret. This means thatwhem major scales are played the player starts from one note, then moveshis fingers two frets, that is, two semitones, to play the followingnote of the scale, then advances a further two frets to the third noteof the scale, yet another fret to the fourth note of the scale, and soon. Consequently, the player is required either to have learnt thepositions of the notes on the guitar or he must find the note obtainedwith the open string and establish the positions of other notes on thebasis of that note. Obviously, it therefore becomes a rather complexoperation to learn to find the positions of the various notes on aconventional guitar. This makes the guitar unsuitable as a beginner'sinstrument.

The piano, which is the instrument that is most commonly used for basicmusic teaching, i.e. it is the first instrument to be taught, has a notesystem which is very easy to learn. Beginners easily learn the positionsof the individual notes on the piano keyboard. However, thedisadvantages of the piano are that it is an expensive instrument and abulky one.

The majority of the printed music and music books is written for thepiano. Composers also largely write for the piano. The development ofmodern music (rock and popular music) has, however, popularized theguitar, it being the predominant instrument in the execution of thesetypes of music. In this respect it is a considerable disadvantage thatonly a comparatively small proportion of the music that exists inprinted form is written for an instrument as popular as the guitar.

The purpose of the subject invention is to design and construct a stringinstrument which allows the player to find the desired notes on theguitar very easily and with the aid of which it becomes considerablymuch easier to play melodies as well as chords, for instance whenplaying classical music where melodies are mingled with accompaniment inthe form of chords.

A special purpose is to provide an instrument in accordance with theinvention, which is coordinated with the existing piano literature andconventional music books without the music therein having to berewritten or specially adapted to the string instrument.

A further purpose of the invention is to make it easier to write musicfor the piano and for the string instrument in accordance with theinvention. This becomes possible because the subject instrument and thepiano are adapted to one another in a way that the conventional guitarand the piano are not.

In addition, the string instrument in accordance with the invention ismore closely adapted to the traditional occidental harmony of music thanis the traditional guitar.

In accordance with the invention these purposes are obtained in aninstrument which easily lends itself to be played at the beginner'slevel as well as professional levels.

The above and other purposes are achieved in a string instrument inaccordance with the subject invention, the instrument beingcharacterised in that each fret on the fingerboard represents a wholetone and in that adjacent strings are tuned in such a manner that theopen string notes of these strings are distinguished from one another byalternately four and three semitones, that is, they are tunedalternately to major and minor thirds.

Further characteristics will appear from the dependent claims.

The string instrument arranged in accordance with the invention providesa large number of advantages. Above all, playing becomes easier,particularly for beginners, both as regards the playing of melodies andof chords. Particularly mixed music playing (classical music) involvinga mixture of melody and chord playing, is facilitated. This type ofmusic is considered difficult to play on conventional guitars. Thesubject string instrument is more like the piano as regards theunderlying principle of the positions of the notes, which makes theinstrument according to the subject invention highly suitable as abeginner's instrument.

Another important advantage is that playing complex chords is highlyfacilitated compared with what is possible with conventional guitars.Many chords which simply cannot, or only with the greatest difficulty beplayed on a conventional guitar, are easy to execute on the instrumentin accordance with the invention.

In addition, richer-sounding chords, comprising more notes, are moreeasily obtained.

A particular advantage found in the string instrument in accordance withthe invention is that it may be arranged in various ways, a simplevariety comprising 4 to 6 strings intended for beginners. This varietymay be arranged for later supplementation by application of a furthernumber of strings.

The possibility of varying the instrument to suit musicians possessingvarious degrees of skill by using for instance 4, 6, 8 or 11 strings ormore, is another important advantage of the invention. This createspossibilities for varied and advanced music playing.

The instrument may be designed as an electric bass incorporating forinstance 7 strings or as a more conventional electric instrument withthe desired number of strings.

Special effects are easily obtained on the instrument, such as a scaleof whole tone notes, by running the finger along the fingerboard.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the new instrument is thepedagogical design of its fingerboard which makes it easy for thepupil/beginner to understand the principles of the harmony of music.

Preferably, the fingerboard is designed in such a manner that itcorresponds to the white and black keys on a piano keyboard. The playerof the instrument therefore easily obtains a visual picture of thefingerboard in the same manner as a piano player does, which is anessential pedagogical advance in a string instrument.

Additional important advantages of the string instrument in accordancewith the subject invention will appear from the following description.

Available printed music for the guitar as well as existing sheet musicfor the piano may be used to play the string instrument in accordancewith the invention. This possibility is an important advantage sincemost music is written for the piano. The piano literature, e.g. theworks of the great masters in music, thus becomes directly available tothe player of the subject instrument without complicated adaptations.

Playing the instrument in accordance with the invention in principlediffers from that on conventional guitars in that on the instrument inaccordance with the subject invention playing is performed to a largeextent across the width of the neck whereas on a conventional guitar theplaying is performed more lengthwise, that is in the longitudinaldirection of the strings.

Some embodiments of the instrument of the subject invention will bedescribed in closer detail in the following purely by way of example andthe applications and usages of the instrument will be exemplified in thefollowing with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a string instrument in accordance with theinvention,

FIG. 2 is a fingerboard with strings of the string instrument of FIG. 1,

FIGS. 3 and 4 show diagrams of major scales on respectively theinstrument in accordance with the invention and a conventional guitar,FIG. 3 corresponding to the upper left part of the fingerboard of FIG.2,

FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams showing two different chords on theinstrument of the invention,

FIG. 7 shows the fingerboards of three different embodiments of stringinstruments in accordance with the invention comprising 5, 8 and 11strings, respectively, black and white fields indicating the notescorresponding to the black and white keys on a piano keyboard, and

FIG. 8 is a front view of a string instrument in accordance with theinvention.

For the sake of consistency, the notes which on the piano keyboard areplayed on the black keys are identified in the following description asnotes sharpened by one semitone from the adjacent lower note rather thanflattened by one semitone from the adjacent higher note. In FIG. 7, onthe other hand, the notes are indicated in a conventional manner.

FIG. 1 illustrates a string instrument 1 in accordance with theinvention comprising 11 strings and designed for electric playing. Inthe conventional manner it has a neck 2 and a body 3. A correspondingacoustic variety is also possible (see FIG. 8).

FIG. 2 shows one example of the positions of the notes on thefingerboard of an instrument in accordance with the invention comprising11 strings 4. In the conventional manner the lowest string is positionedat the far left of the diagram (tuning diagrams for left-handed playerswill be a mirror-image of that shown) and is tuned in the mannerindicated in this example to the note f with the open string, called 4f.Each fret 5 represents one whole tone, which means that the subsequentnotes on the f-string 4f are g, a, b, c.sup.♯, d.sup.♯ and again f,which completes an octave, and the same cycle is repeated. The stringsare distinguished by their open string note, for instance 4f, 4c and, incase the open-string notes of two strings differ by one octave, thesestrings are given also a digit indicating order, such as for instance4a₁, 4a₂. The second string on the instrument is tuned to open stringnote a (the string is called 4a₁), which is four semitones (or two wholetones) higher than note f. The notes obtained on this string thus arenotes a, b, c.sup.♯, d.sup.♯, f, g, a, and so on, that is, the samenotes as string 4f but displaced by two frets. The third string is tunedto open string note c, that is, three semitones higher than 4a₁ and itis called 4c. The notes obtained on this string are c, d, e, f.sup.♯,g.sup.♯, a.sup.♯ and again c, which completes the octave. It isimportant to note that despite the fact that each fret on the instrumentrepresents one whole tone or whole step, all semitones nevertheless areobtainable on the instrument in that the strings, for instance strings4f and 4c, are complementary in the sense that together they compriseall semitones. The fourth string 4e₁ is tuned to open-string note e,that is four semitones (or two whole tones) higher than 4c. The notes onthe string 4e₁ are the same as those on 4c but displaced by two frets.The remaining strings on the instrument are tuned in accordance with thesame principle, that is their open string notes are distinguished fromone another by alternatingly four and three semitones. In accordancewith the embodiment shown there are eleven strings on the instrument,and the strings after string 4e₁ therefore are 4g, 4b, 4d, 4f.sup.♯,4a₂, 4c.sup.♯, and 4e₂.

Thanks to the principle of positioning the notes on the instrument thescales are easy to find. FIG. 3 shows the principle of playing a majorscale on the instrument of FIG. 1 of the invention. The major scale isfound within rectangle 6. The fundamental note (in the example shownnote a) of the scale is note D₁. The following note D₂ on the scale ispositioned one fret above D₁ on the next string designated 4a₁, theopen-string note of this string is distinguished by four semitones fromthe open-string note of string 4f comprising note D₁. The third note D₃of the scale is positioned on the fret below D₂ on the same string. Thefourth note D₄ is positioned on the next string 4c and so on accordingto the system illustrated in FIG. 3. The scale of A major is alsoillustrated within the parallelogram 6' of FIG. 2. Four furtherexemplification of a scale on the instrument in accordance with theinvention the notes of the scale of C major are illustrated in FIG. 2 bythe parallelogram 6". In FIG. 4, which refers to a conventional guitar,the positions of the notes of a scale of A major are shown within therectangle 7. The scale, however, has a different appearance when theB-string or the E₂ -string (FIG. 4) are involved since these strings donot have the same open string note difference as the others. As acomparison between FIGS. 3 and 4 makes apparent major scales are moresimple to play on an instrument in accordance with the invention. Thisis also true of minor scales.

The notes of a major scale extend over four frets on a conventionalguitar, which means that is is difficult--particularly for beginners--tostrike the correct note. On the instrument in accordance with theinvention the notes extend only over two frets, also when the instrumentcomprises only five strings.

FIGS. 3 and 4 also show the appearance of a basic chord, in the caseillustrated G major. On the instrument in accordance with the inventionthis chord is positioned in the manner illustrated in boxes 8 in FIG. 3,that is, the two groups, each comprising three notes viz. g, b, and d,are on the same fret on neighbouring strings. FIG. 4 shows thecorresponding more complicated chord position on a conventional guitar.In this case, the chord is formed by the notes within box 9 and by theD, G and B notes on the intermediary, open strings. In the same way,other basic chords in major are correspondingly more easy to play on thesubject instrument than on a conventional guitar.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show further examples of chord note positions on theinstrument in accordance with the invention, these chords beingconsiderably simplified in comparison with corresponding chords on aconventional guitar. FIG. 5 illustrates the C major triad as the basicchord supplemented by further notes to form chords C⁷, C⁹, C¹¹, and C¹³.As appears from the figure these chords comprising supplementary notesbecome very simple to play.

FIG. 6 shows the chord of A minor (triad) with supplementary notes toform the chords A minor⁷, A minor⁹ and A minor¹¹, all of which arepositioned on the same fret, as illustrated.

As mentioned initially and shown by examples in the description, scalesand basic chords are easily found on the instrument. Also more complexchords are easily found thereon. The distance between the frets iscomparatively large. This means that the instrument in accordance withthe invention may be played on further down the neck, that is, closer tothe bridge than is possible on conventional guitars. The frets will bespaced apart by such large distances that it becomes possible to pressdown the string between the frets and obtain a note. This makes itpossible, when the instrument in accordance with the invention iselectric, to include such a larger number of frets that each stringobtains a playable tone range of up to three octaves. Conventionalguitars normally comprise twenty-two frets, although variations mayexist, that is a tone range for each string of twenty-two semitones orappr. only two octaves. Consequently, the instrument in accordance withthe invention has a larger tone range than conventional guitars. FIG. 1shows the formation in the body 3 of the instrument of a recessedportion 10, which allows the player to reach the frets closest to thebridge 11 of the instrument. Despite the increased range of notes theneck may be short since a smaller number of frets is used than inconventional guitars.

FIG. 7 shows three different embodiments of the string instrument inaccordance with the invention. The fingerboard of the string instrumentis shown as provided with five, eight and eleven strings, respectively.FIG. 7 indicate suitable tuning diagrams for the various embodiments anda suitable number of frets for each embodiment, viz. ten frets for thefive-stringed variety, twelve frets for the eight-stringed variety andfourteen frets for the eleven-stringed variety of the instrument.

In FIG. 7 the notes which correspond to the black keys on a pianokeyboard are indicated in black. This marking may be in the form ofblack glued-on labels 20 and could also comprise white labels toindicate the rest of the notes. With the aid of markings of this kind apupil/beginner can, in an easy and pedagogic manner, learn the elementsof harmony through the visual picture he gains of the fingerboard inexactly the same way as the piano player does of a piano keyboard. Thefingerboard picture may be coordinated with the claviature of the piano.When the tuning is different the labels are re-organized.

The five-string instrument is primarily intended as a beginner'sinstrument because its fingerboard is narrow, which makes it possiblealso for very young children to play the instrument in accordance withthe invention. A conventional guitar comprises six strings and thereforeits fingerboard is wider and larger hands are required to play it. Inthis manner the instrument becomes available to younger children. Inaddition, the choice of five strings means that a scale will bepositioned on two frets across the neck of the instrument.

The tuning illustrated for the five-stringed instrument is ideal as itmeans that the tuning of the string instrument is very closely relatedto the tuning of the piano. It should be noted that the "white" notesare assembled on the same frets. FIG. 7 also shows the correspondencebetween the three various embodiments of the string instrument. It ispossible to regard the five-stringed instrument as a basic instrumentwhich may be supplemented by a further number of strings to provide astring instrument comprising eight or eleven strings as desired.

FIG. 8 shows an acoustic variety of an eight-stringed instrument inaccordance with the teachings of the subject invention. The black andwhite areas on the fingerboard indicate the notes, which correspond tothe keys of the piano keyboard.

The embodiments of the invention described in the aforegoing are to beregarded as examples only and a number of modifications and varietiesare possible within the scope of the appended claims. Details, such asthe number of frets and the number of strings, may, as suggested, bechosen according to wish. Also other notes than those shown may be usedas the notes obtained on the open strings of the instrument, providedthe pitch difference between the open-string notes is the one defined inthe main claim.

The string instrument may also be provided with special bass strings.

I claim:
 1. A string instrument of guitar type, characterised in thateach fret on the fingerboard represents a whole tone and in thatadjacent strings are tuned in such a manner that the open string notesof these strings are distinguished from one another by alternately fourand three semitones, that is, they are tuned alternately to major andminor thirds.
 2. A string instrument in accordance with claim 1 intendedto be used as a beginner's instrument, characterised in that itcomprises between 4 and 6 strings.
 3. A string instrument in accordancewith claim 2, characterised in that the instrument is arranged to allowthe application thereon of a further number of strings.
 4. A stringinstrument in accordance with claim 3, characterised in that thefingerboard of the instrument is provided with marks indicating thenotes which correspond to the black and white keys of a piano keyboard.5. A string instrument in accordance with claim 2, characterised in thatthe fingerboard of the instrument is provided with marks indicating thenotes which correspond to the black and white keys of a piano keyboard.6. A string instrument in accordance with claim 1, characterised in thatthe fingerboard of the instrument is provided with marks indicating thenotes which correspond to the black and white keys of a piano keyboard.7. A string instrument in accordance with claim 1, characterised in thatit comprises more than six strings.
 8. A string instrument in accordancewith claim 7, characterised in that the fingerboard of the instrument isprovided with marks indicating the notes which correspond to the blackand white keys of a piano keyboard.
 9. A string instrument in accordancewith claim 7, characterised in that it comprises one or several bassstrings, said bass strings being tuned to appr. one octave lower thanthe lowest one or ones of the rest of the strings.
 10. A stringinstrument in accordance with claim 9, characterised in that thefingerboard of the instrument is provided with marks indicating thenotes which correspond to the black and white keys of a piano keyboard.